Monday, December 1, 2008

Curse of The Omen?

A stark raving mad Englishman was shot to death by police yesterday on the grounds of Guildford Cathedral, the very church where, in 1976, actors dressed as police pretended to shoot Gregory Peck in the penultimate scene of Richard Donner's The Omen.

According to The Daily Mirror, the man had been terrorizing people in one of the shopping districts of the town of Guildford, some 30 miles outside of London, when police intervened and the man bolted off. They followed him to the church, where he refused to surrender and was gunned down. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Daily Mail is reporting the unconfirmed rumor that the man was committing "suicide by cop", as messages he left behind to friends would indicate he was going to kill himself. And he picked quite the place to do it. Guildford Cathedral was, of course, the very same church at which Damien Thorn threw his infamous Satanic hissyfit, and was also nearly sacrificed by his ill-fated foster daddy. It was also the spot where Father Brennan was impaled by an errant church spire.

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I wanted to take time out today to acknowledge the explosion of interest that has occurred here at the VoH in recent days, thanks to the celebrated/infamous "Cyber-Horror Elite" Top 50. Thanks to one of our contributors, Brad Miska, the list can now be found on Bloody-Disgusting, the web's most popular horror news site. Thanks, Brad! It has also been featured at FangoriaOnline, where blogger Brian Matus has posted his own detailed response. Cinematical has also jumped on the "CBE" bandwagon. As a result, on Saturday I set a new traffic record here for the VoH, which was nearly triple the previous record. Then, on Sunday, I broke that record.

I'd like to bid a horrific welcome to all my new readers from over the past few days. Stick around, I'm just getting warmed up!

Thanks, Gord! And just think, you've been around since the early days. As for FangoriaOnline, I just want to point out that it was cool of Brian Matus, the blogger in question, to take a stand against some of the over-the-top nasty comments being made over there.

I didn't read the comments at Fangoria, but I liked the article (even though it was as little harsh). It made a nice counterpoint, and provided some interesting food for thought regarding whatever criteria facilitates ranking. He totally debunked my idea of influence as criteria, let me tell you. Who's already seen everything in the right order? Next time, I'll look down on the next guy who says what I said last time. Boy that guy'll be as dumb as I used to be.

This whole thing has been so interesting. What I've learned is that all lists are inadequate. Anybody will disagree with any list (hell, I've been disagreeing with the one I'm trying to make myself). In the long run, horror is pretty personal to its dogged fans, so people get also mad. What should open discussions really won't, at least not in a forum; and even the most civil parties only trade opinionated assertions back and forth.

And let me tell you, no one is very convincing. All anyone can say is because I like it better, because I saw it first, because that's my opinion. Or maybe they can say things a lot ruder.

What we need are lists as teaching tools. Something like an anti-list. Ten worsts, maybe. Or name ten movies that you are afraid nobody else has ever heard of. Or name ten that you think are horror, but are often found in the other sections of the rental place.

I particularly liked the list of one pointers. I liked every movie on that list (I think). What we really need is a list of the fifty best horror movies I haven't seen yet.

Anyway, Mr. B-Sol, you have done an exemplary job of keeping a pleasant tone during all of this. I thought I'd like to throw some attention on that. Pretty classy.

Thanks Mr. Cavin, for pointing out my classiness. Yes, there's no reason to lose one's composure over things like this. It's all in good fun, and we're all fans when it comes right down to it. Besides, being a mid-30s married father of two kids, with a mortgage and a full-time job has taught me a thing or two about what's worth losing one's cool over and what isn't.

One man's meat is another man's poison. Something you put on your worst movies list might be one of my favourites. I guess this goes to show again that all lists will be criticised.

I suppose one way of making it "acceptable" would be to increase the number of people participating - like an election if you will. That way, like democracy nobody can complain because it's a popular vote, at least if enough people vote.

Then again, whenever you let the unwashed decide you tend to get something middle of the road and horror is certainly not that, at least the good stuff isn't.

Hi B-Sol. I found you by way of BC: he mentioned the top 50 list at Horror Movie A Day.

Anyway, you're cheering me up today by making fun of Chris Carter and the new X-Files movie. I was a big fan of the TV series back in the day but am much more interested in David Duchovney's addiction to sex these days. Also, Californication is a pretty good show; not as good as The Wire, but it's pretty good. :-)

Of course The Wire isn't on anymore.

Listen, I love horror films and will be back to read your blog. Thanks so much. I like it here.

You're very welcome, come back anytime. I'm also discovering your blog as well, and I think you're a damn gifted writer. And yeah, ain't that Duchovny sex addict stuff a hoot? I keep thinking back to all those racy pics he took for that famous photo shoot with Gillian Anderson, and I wonder what must've been going through his mind...

Which horror film *should* be remade?

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I've been fascinated with horror ever since my parents let me watch The Exorcist at 8 years old (what were they thinking??) and I ran up to my bed screaming when Linda Blair's eyes rolled into the back of her head.Although it often gets a bad rap from "mainstream" critics and audiences alike, horror has often been the most creative and vibrant movie genre of all, from Nosferatu to Saw. Some of the finest motion pictures ever made are part of the horror genre, including Frankenstein, Psycho, The Shining and my personal all-time favorite, George Romero's Dawn of the Dead.This blog is the culmination of my 25-year love affair with all things blood and guts--so check back here often for news and opinion on the world of horror. And remember...